City, Santa Clara County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Codes: 95014, 95015
Silicon
Valley town, population 55,551, famous for the quality of its schools, some of
which score among the tops in the nation. www.mccormacks.com
In
housing, Cupertino seems to rebuilding itself, home by home. Many of the first
homes were built for the middle class — two- and three-bedrooms, often
small, modest and now over 50 years old. These homes are being replaced by
larger homes, built to modern standards with modern touches — walk-in
closets, high-tech wiring, open kitchens, etc.
Some of
these homes are mansions; the majority fall into the category of four and five
bedrooms, two story, ample but not overwhelming.
Click for regional or detailed map
The west
side of town contains the newest neighborhoods — generally two-story
Mediterranean homes, three-car garages, 4-6 bedrooms. Some hill sections jump up
into custom homes.
Cupertino
has several hidden neighborhoods, squeezed in near railroad tracks and freeways
or hidden in the hills or down in arroyos. For an affluent town, it offers a good variety of housing
but even small, old and decrepit will go for a pretty penny. Because of its
schools, its location (close to many jobs) and its amenities, Cupertino is
popular with home buyers.
In recent
years, Cupertino has gone in for “smart” growth, building condos and apartments
in its downtown. This pumps money into the downtown and cuts the commute for
residents. www.mccormacks.com
But
worried about the pace of construction, some residents forced a vote in 2005 on
development. Residents rejected the anti-growth measures but in 2006, to the
polls again, they turned down proposals to build 137 condos above stores in the
Vallco mall and 300 condos and 80 apartments near Interstate 280. Opponents
said that they did not want Cupertino to morph into “Condotino” — cute
play on words that may have swayed some voters.
Being
almost in the heart of Silicon Valley, many Cupertino residents have a short
but sometimes sluggish commute. Town is served by Highway 85, Interstate 280,
Foothill Expressway and on the east side by the Lawrence Expressway. Local
streets lead to the job centers. Shuttle bus to Caltrain, which travels up the
Peninsula to San Francisco. Buses.
Crime low.
Zero homicides in 2005 and 2004, one in 2003, zero in 2002. One each in 2001
and 2000, zero from 1994 to 1999. In 2005, sheriff opened substation in town. See Crime.
Heart of town
is De Anza Community College, lovely campus that includes a planetarium and
Flint Center for Performing Arts, which presents top talents and touring
authors and Broadway shows. The schedule for 2007 includes the musicals “Cats”
and “Stomp” and magician David Copperfield, author Jared Diamond “Guns, Germs
and Steel,” film producer David Breashears and General Wesley Clark. Also, the
San Francisco Symphony, a dance competition and a show featuring My Little Pony
dolls. Summer family concerts.
The college has an Advanced Technology
Center to train students in math, physics, computers, programming. www.mccormacks.com
Served
mainly by Cupertino elementary district and Fremont high school district. Both
districts also educate students in adjoining towns. In 1995, voters in the
elementary district passed a $71 million bond to improve schools and upgrade
their wiring and technology. In 1999, the high school district won approval of
a $144 million bond for renovations, equipment and improvements to labs and
facilities. In 2004, Cupertino High opened a new swimming pool. In 2001, yet
another bond was passed, $80 million, to build a fifth middle school (opened in
2005), renovate two elementary schools, and make general improvements at the
other schools. In 2005, another elementary was opened, replacing a demolished
school. See Schools.
In the
state budget crisis from 2002 to about 2005, schools were squeezed for operational funds
(electives, programs, salaries). This put the burden on local districts and
many have responded by attempting parcel tax elections, which require
two-thirds approval. In 2004, Cupertino elementary district went for a parcel
tax but to the surprise of many lost by less than 1 percent. Parents are being
asked to step up donations to the school foundations to keep programs.
On the
other hand, in 2004 the Fremont high school district, by less than 1 percent,
passed a parcel tax to maintain programs and electives. Many schools have won
state and national recognition for academic excellence.
Every year
only about three dozen high schools in the state break the 600 mark in the math
SAT. In 2005, as they usually do, the local high schools, Cupertino, Homestead
and Monta Vista, all broke the 600 mark.
Cupertino
elementary district gives parents choices in how they want their kids
educated: in one approach,
students are grouped by age and stay with same team of teachers for up to three
years; the second method follows a traditional structure; the third requires
parent participation, working in schools as aides and other positions, the
fourth, offers English-Mandarin immersion. www.mccormacks.com
Of the
remaining schools, some accept children from any address in the district, space
permitting, some restrict to immediate neighborhood. Admission to some schools
is determined by lottery. Five
high schools in or near Cupertino are offering classes in Chinese. Private
groups offer instruction in various foreign languages.
The city
rec department runs after-school programs that include classes in foreign
languages, science, violin-cello, flute, debating and public speaking, theater,
Indian culture and cartooning. In 2005, survey of music teachers put the
Cupertino music program into top 100 in U.S. (Silicon Valley has a youth
symphony based in Palo Alto.)
Cupertino
is the headquarters city for Apple and Symantec, and has about 50 high-tech
firms. Many businesses have gotten behind the schools and work with the kids to
make them computer sharp. Town is jammed with high-tech parents, who strongly
support academics. When selling homes in Cupertino, Realtors almost invariably
emphasize school quality.
De Anza College offers “College for Kids”
in summer and runs a high-school program during the regular school year. NASA,
the space agency, is located nearby at Moffett Field. Its scientists
occasionally pitch in on projects with the school kids. A special tax was
renewed in 2005 to allow libraries to stay open seven days a week.
A farm
village for most of its life, Cupertino started 1950 with about 2,500
residents. Over the next three decades, it added about 32,000 people and built
thousands of three-bedroom homes, the most popular tract model of that era. www.mccormacks.com
In the
1980s, the town constructed 2,300 residential units, a sharp drop from previous
decades, and in the 1990s, about 2,600 housing units, the majority of them
single homes. Sensitive about growth. Anything big will find opponents.
In 2008,
the state tallied 20,172 housing units: single homes 12,235, single attached
2,145, multiples 5,783, mobile homes 9.
Town shows
a lot of care but there are some transition blocks that mix the old and rundown
with the replacement new. Country
flavor on some streets — mature trees, no sidewalks, utility lines
overhead, and usually several homes being remodeled or rebuilt. As homes are
improved, the city may require sidewalks.
Move a few
blocks to the west, especially beyond Highway 85, and middle-plus and affluent
tracts with sidewalks and buried utility lines will present themselves. The
median strips on the thoroughfares have been planted with flowers, shrubs and
small trees.
Vallco Fashion Park, 180 shops and
restaurants. Anchored by Sears, Penneys. Other stores in town: Mervyns, Home
Depot, Good Earth. In 2007, Vallco is opening a movie complex and a bowling
alley. www.mccormacks.com
In choices
of Asian and East Asian restaurants, one of the best cities in the Bay Area.
New 10-story hotel and apartment complex in the downtown. Whole Foods
(organics) is replacing its store with what is billed as the largest Whole
Foods in the U.S. Trader Joe’s in adjoining city of Sunnyvale.
Baseball,
gymnastics, girls softball. City rec department offers hundreds of activities
or classes every quarter — belly dancing, computers, aerobics, swimming,
gymnastics, bowling, etc. Soccer
draws over 1,000 kids.
Thirteen
parks, nature preserve, a winery, a racquet club. Loads of classes, events at
De Anza, which has an art gallery. Two golf courses, seniors center, movies,
community center, sports center, bowling alley, ice skating rink, YMCA, city
museum, arts and wine festival, De Anza Days, Heritage parade, Oktoberfest,
Dickens Faire, Cherry Blossom Festival. Shakespeare Festival. University of
California extension classes.
City has
spent millions on bike paths, which extend into other towns. New library and community hall (2004).
Chamber of
commerce (408) 252-7054.
• Signs of
the times. The new middle school has a rock-climbing wall. www.mccormacks.com
• Every
fall, Cupertino throws a city-wide garage sale.
• School
project that took two years of preparation. Students at Dilworth Elementary in
2006 contacted by ham radio the International Space Station, 200 miles above.
The kids spoke to astronaut Sunita Williams for nine minutes and asked 23
questions and then the station moved out of reception range. Sample question, “Why
do astronauts wear white suits?” Answer, “Because white reflects heat and
light.” To prepare the fourth and fifth graders, the teacher had them design
space probes.
• In 2006,
Apple revealed that it had purchased 50 acres in town and would build a second
campus.
City web site:
www.cupertino.org
